Folger Consort
Washington Post on Fairest Isle--
by Ronald Broun

John Dryden, a contemporary of composer Henry Purcell, wrote of "music melted in the throat," which fairly describes both Purcell's songs and the singing style that most becomes them. Purcell set words to music with microscopic precision, infusing a coiled energy that, on release, springs a wealth of darting surprises.

The Folger Consort's mostly Purcell concert Friday night at the Folger Theatre opened with a Purcell song ("Fairest Isle") that speaks of "Gentle murmurs, sweet complaining, Sights that blow the fire of love." As sung by countertenor Drew Minter, the music melted in the throat and emerged in crisp, clear diction that was itself a pleasure to hear. Vocally, Minter's characteristic sound is light, pure, almost conversational, though with cream in the lower register. He has none of the wearisome artifice that affects all too many countertenors, and he can move notes in florid passages without losing intimate touch with the words or sacrificing ease of delivery. In "From Rosie Bowers" -- a so-called "mad song" in which the singer begins with sullen madness and plummets from there to lunacy -- Minter opened a sonic deluge that transfigured phrases like "cold Despair disguis'd like Snow and Rain."

The period instruments of Ryan Brown (notably eloquent on violin), Robert Eisenstein (violin, viol), Webb Wiggins (harpsichord), Brent Wissick (cello, viol) and Christopher Kendall (archlute) illuminated instrumental music of Purcell and a few contemporaries with spirited, idiomatic interpretation.